Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that he would be open to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, provided the science shows it can benefit patients and tight regulations can be put in place to control distribution.

"I'm open to the idea of medical marijuana," the governor said, "and the discussion of how it can be used as a medicine based on science, and making sure we have good, collaborative efforts so we can answer the questions that are out there."

That appears to be a change from his position during the recent legislative session, when he expressed concerns about a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, that would have created a state-licensed system of medical marijuana growing facilities and dispensaries where patients could buy the drug with a doctor's recommendation.

At the time, Herbert said the bill could lead to a "slippery slope" toward legal, recreational use.

Madsen's bill failed in the Senate by a single vote, although the lawmaker has said he will reintroduce it next year.

Connor Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute, a libertarian think tank, said he views the governor's comments as progress in the marijuana debate.

"Even during the legislative session, it became clear that the governor was backtracking his initial opposition to medical cannabis," he said, "so we expected this to happen and are encouraged to see him becoming more open-minded to it, just as many legislators are."

In times of need, communities stand together to defend the weak. Michigan’s medical marijuana and marijuana law reform communities did just that prior to a session of the House Judiciary Committee on May 7 by submitting a joint statement advocating for passage of two “critical and urgent” House bills, HB 4209 and HB 4210.

Testimony on the two bills has been heard on two consecutive Thursdays in the House committee, and will continue on May 14th. The letter was addressed to Representative Klint Kesto and Judiciary Committee members.

The letter expressed “the organizations’ strong support for patient safety while improving the efficacy of the medical marijuana industry in the state.” The endorsing organizations seek to “provide safe access to medical marijuana… provide for the testing of medical marijuana… clarify to at patients may possess and use smoking alternative forms of medical marijuana.”

Several representatives of these organizations have given testimony before the committee on these blls, including Robin Schneider of the NPRA, David Brogren of CPU and Jim Powers of Pediatric Cannabis Therapy.

In an attempt to prevent the legalization of marijuana in Arizona, a multi-agency drug war task force has donated tens of thousands of dollars collected from the civil asset forfeiture program to ensure a statewide cannabis industry never sees the light of day.

A recent investigative report from the Phoenix New Times indicates that Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT), a law enforcement organization charged with bringing the heat down on drug offenders, recently wrote a check for $50,000 to MATFORCE, a group dedicated to combating substance abuse. This joining of prohibitionary forces, so to speak, apparently took place shortly after the Marijuana Policy Project announced it was coming to Arizona with guns blazing to legalize weed for recreational purposes in 2016.

And It appears that additional public funding will likely be used to fight the prospect of a fully legal cannabis trade in the state. Earlier last week, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich released a decision in regards to a question posed by Yavapai County Attorney Shelia Polk, which essentially asked whether public finances could be used to protest marijuana.

In his opinion, Brnovich asserted that this practice was acceptable as long as there remains a balance that does not cross the statewide ban against using public resources for campaign purposes. In short, public dollars can be spent to combat ballot measures, including those aimed at legalizing marijuana, as long as it is done in a manner that “educates” rather than persuade.